Trip to Muscat, Oman

Hi friends,

My adventure continues as I just got back from flying a trip to Muscat, Oman in the Citation. These trips across Pakistan and Iran are starting to feel a little familiar and that is so different for me. How often do you seen Panjgur on your navigation box?? Or how often do you fly over territory where if the plane had to land you aren't sure what the greeting might be on the ground when you put down? Panjgur is in the middle of Pakistan and it apparently has some elevation. We had another hurry up trip to a foreign country. It was about 1100 nautical miles from Delhi to Muscat, and against very strong headwinds and with very strong tailwinds the next day, the trip was 3:45 out and 2:25 back to Delhi. Too fun, and we had a very nice hotel with a beautiful pool in Muscat. I wasn't aware of it but apparently this can be a very beautiful place to go scuba diving so we are going back and when we do I will be signing up for a scuba trip just to save I have. After all, have you gone scuba diving off the coast of Oman in the Indian Ocean (here it is called the Gulf of Oman)? I didn't think so.

Having traveled by commercial jet to Doha, Qatar for thanksgiving, I was quite well prepared for the sights and sounds of Muscat, Oman. The combination is sand, ocean and money with a side dose of nice highways, beautiful cars and nice places to spend time. There was a British man out by the pool escaping the brutal English winter and he said that this was the best time of the year to come here. The temps were perfect and I was surprized at how cool it was and that the visibility was so poor due to blowing sand and haze.

Nice trip, though, and I love seeing new places so this one goes in my logbook with pride and joy.

Got home at 5 a.m. because of a late departure and the loss of an hour and a half in time zone crossings. One thing I liked about Muscat is that it is exactly 12 hours different from the West coast of the US, so I could easily tell what time my kids were on.

There were lots of burkas and the men prefer the long white smocks that seem to be cooler than traditional clothes. Mall shopping was expensive and it's apparent that people have money here as the cars were very nice.

Karen continues to do well in India and we are looking forward to a visit from her mother and aunt in just 3 weeks, at the end of March. It will be the first family to visit us since our big sojourn to India. We hope to do some fun trips while they are here!!

My boss told me on the way to Muscat that he wants me to stay and work with his company for as long as I want. I told him I was thinking about 5 years and then semi-retiring to a cabin on a lake somewhere with a ski boat and a fishing boat, and letting the grandkids come visit me. He said that sounded wonderful and was very positive about my future here. So much so, that I am actually thinking about buying a car and staying awhile.

Keep in touch and let me hear from you. I will be posting the photos from Muscat as soon as I can put up the captions. This gets to be a career.

Love you guys.

Dan and Karen